Bob Willis biography, former cricketer, married, wife, juliet smales, family, retirement, net worth • biography

Background and Age

Bob Willis was born on May 30, 1949, in Sunderland, England. His childhood was spent growing up in Sunderland with his two siblings. His father, Ted Willis, worked for BBC. Bob completed his primary education at Royal Grammar School, Guildford. Bob played football for his school.

Marriage, Wife, and Kids

In 1980, Bob married Juliet Smales. He along with his wife gave birth to a daughter. Their relationship lasted for 25 years until Bob filed divorce after a strained relationship.

Career and Net Worth

Bob Willis started his career at a very early age. He started his career with Stoke d Abernon Cricket Club in 1968. The first team he played for was Surrey. He later joined Warwickshire and he was known for his bowling style. Bob led his team to victory in many matches. He was called up to the England squad in December 1970, and made his Test debut against Australia in January 1971. Bob also played against teams like West Indies and India. In 1975, it was reported that Bob had a major knee injury and Bob had to undergo many surgeries because of the injury. His recovery was very slow and it caused him to miss several matches away from the team.

His performance suffered after the medical operation and it took him several months of practice to get back in form. He played against India after the recovery and his performance was very commendable. Bob also played in the World Cup season of 1979 but he was again injured in the game. Bob's career-best figures of 8 for 43 against Australia at Headingley helped seal England's famous 1981 Ashes win, playing under captain Mike Brearley. Bob was later given a chance to captain England himself, from 1982 to 1984.

In 1984, Bob Willis announced his retirement and after retirement, he decided to work as a commentator. He worked as a summariser on BBC TV Cricket from 1985 to 1987, recapping game results. In 1990, Bob joined Sky Sports, which became a new phase of his career. He appeared in several shows after that. Some people loved his style but others felt like he sounded too monotone and need more enthusiasm.

Bob played a total of 90 test matches and 64 international matches. His batting average had been low and he never scored a century or a half century in any of the matches because he mainly focused on the balling. In test matches, Bob took 325 wickets, including his career-best 8 for 43 against Australia at Headingley in 1981. In ODIs, he took 80 wickets.

The net worth of the famous cricketer is not known but he earned a health salary while he was playing.